Tag: Challenge Cards

The first challenge over at Crazy 4 Challenges is an easy one: “What’s you favorite type of card to make? Make one! My favorite is some kind of an interactive or pop-up card. My granddaughter’s birthday is Jan. 5th so I made her a cake pop up birthday card.

The die set I used for this card is no longer available but it is 1102 – Cake Pop Up by Karen Burniston. It’s one of my favorites for birthdays as well as weddings.

To make this card, the hardest part is to choose the designer paper and cardstock you want to use. The rest is really what the die set does. So because this die set is no longer available I am going to just give you a list of the other products used:

For this card I started with the base card. Elizabeth Craft Designs Soft Finish Cardstock for two reasons. First, it’s a good medium weight cardstock and second when you want the front one color and you want to stamp on white for the inside. Or, as I did, stencil a background for my fall inside. Their Soft Finish Cardstock is colored on one side and white on the other side. The base card measures 5″ x 7″. I used Elizabeth Craft Designs: 1116 – Stitched Circles

Cut the circle out of the front of the base card using the second largest die and then out of the same cardstock nest this die into the largest die. Secure with tape on the non blade side of the nested 2 dies. Cut both a circle frame from yellow and white cardstock. Adhere the yellow over the front circle and the white frame over the inside of the circle.

The next step is to stencil the inside right of the card using my all time favorite stencil! Elizabeth Craft Designs: Earth and Sky Stencil I have used this stencil for the sky on any of my cards that were an outdoor scene. (At least 50 cards) If you don’t have it GET IT!

On the Elizabeth Craft Designs You Tube channel there is a tutorial of Susan Tierney Cockburn using this stencil. I always use Pan Pastels but you could use ink too.

The two die sets I used for the tree and wheelbarrow for the inside unfortunately are retired but they are: 781 – All Seasons Tree by Karen Burniston and 933 – Wheelbarrow by Elizabeth Craft Designs. The leaves are 3 dies from the “all seasons tree” set.

The grass strip across the bottom of the circle on the front and back of the card is also a retired set from Karen Burniston 914 – Outdoor Edges.

That’s It!

I hope you’ll join the challenge this week because we love to see what you will do with this sketch! Crazy4Challenges

Since I am the hostess for October, I got to design the sketch. I thought this layout would be suitable for any theme and if you hop on over to the challenge blog: Crazy4Challleges you will see the design team came up with all different takes on this sketch!

I chose some cute papers from American Crafts for this project:

The die set I used is one by Karen Burniston a while ago when she was still with Elizabeth Craft Designs:

I cut the bats, tree, spider and web from Black cardstock. I also used Karen Burniston’s: 1053 – Alphabet for the word “BOO” and cut the letters from black cardstock.

The card measures 5.5 x 7″. Score a pc. of 8.5″ x 11″ at 5.5″ on the long side and fold over for a side fold.

Next using Elizabeth Craft Designs: 1118 – Stitched Squares and the 3rd to the largest die cut a square of the White stitches paper then cut the square in half diagonally from corner to corner and adhere to the black base card as shown.

Next cut a 6″ x 4″ rectangle from the orange pumpkin and adhere it to card as shown and add the elements from Halloween Scene die also as shown and that’s it! Here’s another look:

I hope you’ll join us for this week’s challenge. We would love to see your take on this sketch.

This week’s challenge is to make a card for someone who is fighting cancer or has won their battle with it. Last week at the salon, one of our 90 something year old customers, who is fighting several health issues, talked about her daughter and how devoted she is to being there for her. The mother our salon customer, was a nurse in the Navy during the Korean War. And now her daughter is the nurse for this American Hero Mom.

The Steps:

Step 1: Choose the papers and cardstock you want to use. I wanted a “chocolate” sweets theme. I chose a brown and white polka dot paper from Elizabeth Craft Designs: ModaScrap Thinking About Grand Canyon

I cut all the dies in the Sweet Treat Charms set from white cardstock and colored them with Copic Markers. I cut off the little “hanging part” since I wasn’t using them to hang from anything.

Step 3: Cut all the pieces in the Upsy Daisy Die set. The best way to show you how to construct the “pop up” mechanism is to direct you to the designer, Karen Burniston’s assembly video which is on the product page: Product page with assembly video

I always recommend watching the designer’s assembly videos, if available or needed. Besides eliminating a lot of frustration and complete and utter confusion, she shows all the cards made by her design team using this set. WARNING! You’ll want it! As a matter of fact my design for this challenge is in no way an original design. It was inspired by one you’ll see in this video!

Step 4: My card measures 5.5 x 5.5″ so score an 11 x 8.5″ at 5.5″ pc. of white cardstock along the 11″ side and fold over for a top fold card. Then I cut four mats using the brown polka dot designer paper that each measure 5.25 x 5.25″ I adhered two of these mats to the inside of the card and two to the outside.

Step 5: After your base card is ready is when you install the “Pop UP Mechanism” in the set. But again, you need to watch the video. Then you will be assembling what you want to display on the squares that pop up when the card is open. That’s pretty much all there is to it! I decorated the front to match and be a preview to what’s inside. Here’s another look:

Thanks so much for spending the time to take a look! I hope you’ll take the challenge and show us your take on this week’s theme.

Today is World Card Making Day! Today is also my first time to Hostess the challenge and I will be your Hostess all month at the blog for Crazy4Challenges

So this week’s challenge is to make a card! It can be any shape or theme that you would like to make. I’m hoping to see a lot of you this week because you know there’s something coming up in your life that calls for a greeting card.

I took this opportunity to do some coloring. I like to color when I’m experiencing stress! I find coloring to be very calming and takes you out of your “head” for a while.

I used to have a little Yorkie named “Radar”. He was the love of my life! When I saw this adorable digital stamp from The Paper Shelter I just had to have it. The stamp is called “Teacup Yorkie”.

The Steps:

Step 1: Download the image (click the “paper shelter” link above to purchase). Then size and print the stamp on cardstock made for the coloring medium you use. I used Copic Markers, so I printed the stamp on X-Press It Blending Card that is available at Amazon.

Cut the Silhouette pc and overlay pc. from cardstock that matches the way you colored the butterfly in the digital stamp. Assemble the butterfly.

Step 5: From this set I’ve had for yrs. and don’t know who is the manufacture, I cut the sentiment “Hello” 3 times. Once in light peach, one in coral and one in a medium teal. I offset the stack with coral, then teal and last light peach.:

Step 6: Score a pc. of cardstock that is 8.5″ x 11″ or larger at the half way mark on the long side and fold for a side fold. Trim for a base card that measures 5.25″ x 6.5″.

Step 7: Assemble the card as shown:

That’s it!

Thanks so much for dropping by and I can’t wait to see what you make since there are no rules this week!

My youngest daughter’s birthday is in October. I have never made her a card that represented her month of the year. So this weeks challenge theme gave me an opportunity to do just that.

The Steps:

First cut a rectangle from white cardstock that measures 5.25″ x 6.75″ then using the stencil from Elizabeth Craft Designs called: S016 – Earth and Sky stencil clouds on the upper third of this rectangle. The picture shows me using this stencil on a different project. I forgot to take a picture of this one.

and the edge die that has the barn and trees, tape it to the top of a 2nd piece of white cardstock that measures 6.75′ x 5.25″. Color the barn and trees and the top edges with Copic Markers. Then I used PanPastels to color the rest of this layer. Adhere this layer to the stenciled clouds layer, matching up the two bottom corners.

Next, die cut all the elements from these die sets:

Cut all the pcs. that make up the scarecrow, and the bale of hay pc. I didn’t use the pumpkins from this set.

Instead, I used the pumpkins from this set that I just discovered may be no longer available.

I cut the stalks out twice, the pumpkins several times to have enough and 3 times for the sunflower pcs. I also cut the vine pc. twice. All these pcs. were cut with white cardstock and colored with Copic Markers.

Cut the little fence piece twice. The last element is the “happy birthday” sign. I stamped the sentiment on another pc. of wood grain cardstock and glued it to a leftover pc. that looked like a stake to me.

Now adhere all the cute little elements to make your “October” fall scene and adhere to a side fold base that measures 5.5 ” x 7″ Here’s another look:

That’s it!

Thanks again for spending some precious time over here! I hope you’ll take this week’s challenge and I’ll see you in October when I will host the blog and have a special guest designer planned.

This die set is so versatile. It can be used for almost any theme you want. I always recommend that you watch Karen’s: Spinner Square Pop Up assembly video It will really help you make the “spinner mechanism” work properly the very first time.

The Steps:

Step 1: I chose a digital designer paper from a shop on Etsy called “The Digi Rainbow” that’s called 100 Number Digital Papers. Yes, there are 100 different colors of this same paper that’s included in the Sale price of $1.40 for all of the colors! What? I used this blue one for the front, the inside left, and the back of the card.

Step 2: I stenciled some clouds on the right inside as well as some die cut clouds from a set that has been discontinued.

Step 3: I stamped and colored with Copic Markers this stamp from Art Impressions:

Once colored, I fussy cut the “couple flying in the plane” to spin up on the square when the card is opened.

Step 4: On my computer I created the two sentiments that is a quote from Abraham Lincoln! (“It’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years”)

Cut the dies in the “small Poinsettia” to make 3 flowers. I cut the base pc. 3 times, and all the leaf pcs. 9 times from white cardstock and 4 times from green cardstock. Here is Susan Tierney Cockburn’s :Poinsettia Assembly Video I cut, shaped and assembled all 3 poinsettia on their base pc., to place into the end arrangement when I assembled the finished card.

Next cut two of the candle die from white cardstock but cut the “candle drip” pc. from white cardstock that has been adhered to Double Sided Adhesive. Remove the protective back from the drip pcs. and sprinkle 640 – Warm Diamond Microfine Glitter over the sticky side and polish in with your finger. Remember to apply the double sided adhesive to the right side of the cardstock and the die pc. blade down over the adhesive. Cut two flame pcs. from white cardstock and color with Copic Markers. Cut the pine 4 or 5 times from green cardstock.

I bought this Christmas cardstock pack yrs. ago from Joanne’s Craft Store and it’s probably no longer available, but any holiday paper/cardstock would be great. I loved this one because the ornaments all have subtle red glitter areas on them, which made this glitter drip from the candles really work or make sense.

The cardstock I chose for the base card is one from Elizabeth Craft Designs called Soft Finish Cardstock in “Dove Gray” because in the close up above, you can see it is pretty much an exact match to the gray in the designer paper, and, I love that is white on the other side which makes a blank slate for stamping a sentiment or anything on the inside. It is 12 x 12″ 100lb. paper which makes a great base card weight.

The finished card measures 5.5 x 7″ so create a base card by scoring either a 8.5 x 11″ at 5.5″ on the long side or as I did in this case, score a 12 x 12″ at 6″. Either way, fold over for a book fold card and trim to the finished size. Cut, from a holiday print cardstock, a mat that measures 5.25 x 6.75″ and adhere to the front of the base card.

Now with a nested oval set from Elizabeth Craft Designs:1113 – Stitched Ovals take the second and the third largest die and tape them nested together.

As in the photo above place the taped together ovals on a pc. of the same cardstock used for the base and run through your die cutting machine. Now separate the ovals and using the smaller of the two, cut an oval from silver mirror cardstock.

Using Elizabeth Craft Designs 1467 – Words 3 – Happy Holidays cut two of each word from the same cardstock you choose for the base card and adhere the two layers together.

Now the fun. Assemble the card by first centering the oval frame you cut by using 2 dies and put the silver mirror stock oval inside the oval frame and place the candles as shown. Once you like where it is, then place the 3 poinsettias as shown. Glue everything down including the pine boughs, green leaves and the double layer sentiment. Here’s another quick look at the card:

I have an adorable granddaughter who is a September girl like me! She’s is in high school now and is too grown-up to want kiddie cards but still likes interactive cards.

Here’s how I made this card:

I used a now retired die set from Karen Burniston when she was still with ElizabethCraft Designs called 916 – Spiral Circle Pull Card. It comes with a die that creates a spiral that extends when the card is opened. As most of Karen’s interactive dies sets, this one could be for any theme. This die set looked as if it was made for this month’s sketch to me:

The basket and all the flowers were made with this set from Joset for Elizabeth CraftDesigns called: 1460 – Spring Basket

Let’s just say I cut a lot of flowers. I used pink, yellow and white cardstock and cut each flower with two layers of petals. The flower center circle was cut with an olive green cardstock. The bow from this set was cut with the same cardstock from Elizabeth Craft Designs called: Thinking About Grand Canyon that I used for the pull card. I cut the basket from white cardstock and colored it with PanPastels.

The leafy branches was with Elizabeth Craft Designs: 1033 – Leafy Branch I cut about 6 branches and cut into pieces that worked for the basket of flowers.

The frog was made with die set also expired from Karen Burniston called 909 – Hoppy the Frog:

I cut two little circles out of white cardstock using Elizabeth Craft Designs: 1172 – Dotted Scallop Circles I cut them using the 3rd to the smallest die in this set for under the frog and for the sentiment when you open the card. I stamped the sentiment “Enjoy your day” from a retired Karen Burniston little stamp set called Just a Note on one of the circles for the inside sentiment.

The outside sentiment “Happy Birthday” is from this die set from Elizabeth Craft Designs: 783 – Happy Birthday

That’s It!

Thank you for taking a look and I hope you’ll join us this week and make your version of this sketch.